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Man Orders TV From Amazon, Receives Rifle Instead

A Washington, D.C. man got a surprise package at his door after ordering what he thought was a television from Amazon.

Instead, Seth Horvitz opened the large box Tuesday evening to find a "military-grade assault rifle," according to Wired.

"When I saw some metal parts inside the box, I thought, 'Maybe this is a TV stand or mount or something," he told the magazine. "When I realized it was an assault rifle, it was pure shock and disbelief."

Horvitz had ordered a Westinghouse 39-inch LCD television from the ecommerce retailer for around $320. But after discovering the weapon, he contacted local police, who then confiscated the box. Officers told Horvitz the Sig Sauer 716 patrol rifle was illegal in D.C., Wired reported.

An invoice for $1,590 found inside the box revealed that it was addressed to Independence Gun Shop, a Pennsylvania-based business, from online retailer Gunbuyer.com.

After contacting Amazon, the company's customer service department gave Horvitz "the standard line of sending a dispute claim for sending the wrong product," he said.

Horvitz also contacted the third-party Amazon seller, who denied any knowledge of the weapon.

UPS, which delivered the package, likely caused the mixup, Horvitz said. The box had two different address labels on it — one with his proper address, and one with another.

"UPS puts the name label on and then they put a second small sticker — a redundant sticker with the tracking information on it," Horvitz said. "There were two different small stickers as well. There was a small sticker that matched the label under mine, and a small sticker that matched mine."

Amazon and Horvitz did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Have you ever received the wrong package after ordering something online? Tell us in the comments.

UPDATE: Seth Horvitz told Mashable that there was a "labeling mixup" within the UPS system.

"The third part seller on Amazon has refunded my money and has filed a claim with UPS [to] retrieve his money. The original package containing the TV is still lost as far as I know," he said.

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